This Taleggio Will Fix Me

Plus, where to stream and what to pair with this year’s Oscar winners

Hello cheese sluts!

We’re a couple months into 2025, and more and more the theme of the year is revealing itself to be “oh, the horror!” It’s been chaos and suffering piled on top of terror while the world's richest loser takes over the US government. It is far too much to digest, and so difficult to bring our nervous systems down to a low enough simmer that we’re actually able to function.

I’m self-regulating by making myself little snacks and watching a lot of movies. My flavor of neurodivergence thrives in a dark room illuminated by a projected film and enveloped in its sound and score. The ritual of the movie theater is where I find peace, focus, and presence, and I tend to indulge once or twice a week.

This year, I challenged myself to see as many Oscar nominations as possible, and that is relevant because I paired all of the winners with cheese (except for The Substance because that’s not an eating movie). You’ll find pairing suggestions for all of the Oscar winners with details on where to stream them.

But first, let’s talk about the world needs now: Taleggio, sweet Taleggio.

Cheese of the Month: Taleggio

It is Pisces season and our hearts are bleeding, so we need something soft, cuddly, easy-to-find, and not too expensive. We need a cheese that can hold her own on a plate or melt onto pizza or bake like a brie. We need a cheese that will cure all that ails us, at least momentarily. We need Taleggio.

Plush, readily available, and a little more interesting than the first Bries we encounter as burgeoning turophiles, Taleggio is both unpretentious and worthy of ceremony. She’s a gentle Italian beefcake that often serves as an introduction to the world of washed rinds, the family of cheeses categorized by sticky, stinky orange rinds and brothy flavors. Taleggio is the most mild-mannered of this group: delightfully tubby, with yeasty aromas of baking bread followed by earthy mushrooms and a delicate perfume of that signature washed-rind funk.

German sunflower seed bread, toasted, with Taleggio, tomatoes, and parsley

Her soft, squishy, square-shaped wheel sports a rusty orange rind and stripes of grayish molds that form as she ages. Her interior is custard-rich and plump enough to spill out of her rind. She’s easygoing, as willing to pair with pesto and pickled peppers as with prosciutto and figs on a grilled cheese. I’ve even seen her coupled with tinned fish! She’s a dream on an antipasti spread, surrounded by olives, ripe tomatoes, and pesto.

Despite her washed rind, which is delicate and likely to wilt in distribution and retail spaces, she often survives weeks wrapped in plastic inside a grocery store. Get a big wedge, let her soften and temper for at least 20 minutes, and treat yourself to a moment of escapism amidst the turmoil.

I cried a lot during this performance

Oscar Winners: Where to Stream and What to Eat

I know the Academy Awards are a little elitist and self-indulgent, but this year’s ceremony was also a lovely escape, thanks to the incredible opening act by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande plus Conan O’Brien’s infallible comedic talent. I’m just so grateful for movies and all of the people who work so hard to create them.

All of the winners are currently available to stream or rent. I’ve detailed where to watch, paired each with a snack and/or beverage, and listed my other favorite nominations. I hope a little snack and cinema therapy will help you cope as it does for me.

Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Editing, and Actress: Anora

A New Jersey stripper is swept off her feet by the son of a wealthy Russian. It’s Pretty Woman for millennials and Mikey Madison was wonderful in it. I don’t know if it deserved to sweep, but I love that an indie film with a $6 million budget had such an impact.

• What to pair: dill Havarti with pickled beets, caraway crackers, and vodka over ice

• Where to stream: available to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $5.99

• Also see: Nickel Boys (absolutely beautiful and filmed entirely from the POV of the two main characters) available to stream on MGM+ or rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $5.99

Best Cinematography, Original Score, and Actor: The Brutalist

I absolutely loved this story of an architect who escapes postwar Europe to rebuild his life in Pennsylvania, until Adrien Brody gave the worst acceptance speech in Oscar history. Regardless, it’s gorgeous totally worth watching, but wait until it’s available to stream for free and maybe split it over a few nights because that 3hr and 35min runtime is a beast.

• What to pair: St Malachi, an iconic cheese from The Farm at Doe Run in Pennsylvania with notes of broth and brown butter paired, with an Old Fashioned

• Where to stream: rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $19.99 (or don’t)

• Also see: A Complete Unknown (I’m normally a Chalamet skeptic but that wasn’t Timothée, that was Bob Dylan) and wait until it’s available to stream for free.

Best Supporting Actress and Original Song: Emilia Pérez

This controversial operatic tale of a Mexican druglord who turns her life around by transitioning was, in my opinion, not a good movie even if you set aside all the racism and exploitation. However, it’s worth watching for Zoe Saldaña. She worked her ass off in that movie and she deserved her flowers.

• What to eat: we’re going to pan-fry Pañela in butter and put her on a baguette with pineapple and mango St Dalfour jam and a little arugula plus a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc, because while this is a story about Mexican women it is most certainly a French film.

• Where to Stream: Netflix

  

Best Supporting Actor: A Real Pain

Kierin Culkin crushed it in this film about two cousins who embark on a trip to Poland after their grandmother dies. It’s tense and very cringe inducing, but also a bitingly realistic portrayal of a very specific strain of depression.

• What to pair: potato and cheese pierogi with sour cream and pickled cabbage because this one calls for warm comfort food

• Where to stream: Hulu

• Also see: The Apprentice (if you have the stomach to see how Trump became the supervillain he is today with unsettling performances from both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong) available to rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $5.99

Best Adapted Screenplay: Conclave

This one is best described as a cunty Catholic version of Succession. The pope is dead and a new one must be elected. Does that sound boring? Well, you should know that it is gripping, stunningly beautiful, and the Catholic church is livid over it.

• What to pair: a wedge of Parmigiano, a cheese that’s also an Italian institution, with aged balsamic vinegar, a good olive oil, and a big glass of Barolo to pair with the vivid pops of red throughout the film

• Where to stream: Peacock

• Also see: Sing Sing (adapted from an article about the theater program at Sing Sing prison. The majority of its cast members are formerly incarcerated and actually acted in that program) available to rent for $4.99 on YouTube, Amazon, or Apple TV

Best Costume and Set Design: Wicked

Paul Tazewell made history as the first black man to win the Oscar for Best Costume and damn did he deserve it. No detail was overlooked in the cast’s wardrobe and we can all thank Paul for that shot of Jonathan Bailey’s ass in those tight pants (you know the one).

• Pair with: a ripe wheel of La Tur with pistachio butter for Elphaba and fresh strawberries for Glinda, plus a glass of sparkling rosé for a little extra whimsy

• Where to stream: rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $5.99

• Also see: Nosferatu (the costume and production design teams blended the novel’s Victorian gothic roots with the original film’s German expressionism into a stylistic dream) streaming on Peacock

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: The Substance

Demi Moore’s depiction of a washed up actress in this campy body-horror teardown of societal beauty norms was the performance of the year in my opinion. There’s nothing I love more than the intersection of horror and dark comedy, so it was also my favorite movie, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

• What to pair: just a mug of hot ginger tea to soothe your stomach because this is the grossest Oscar winner of all time and I absolutely adore it but it ain’t appetizing

• Where to stream: rent on YouTube, Amazon Prime, or Apple TV for $5.99

• Also watch: A Different Man (The Substance for boys starring Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson) streaming on Max

Best Special Effects and Sound: Dune Part 2

Timothée riding that sandworm was one of the best cinematic moments of the year, even though his kiss with Zendaya was one of the least convincing. Either way, it’s a great sequel and overall a good time even if you still don’t really know what Dune is about (space witches and an eerily bald Austin Butler is what I’ve gathered thus far).

• What to pair: Glacier Ice Gatorade because you’re in this for almost 3 hours and you need electrolytes, plus it looks like the Water of Life. We need a little Spice too, so we’re pairing it with Milton’s 4 Alarm Cheddar and some Ruffles.

• Where to stream: Max or Netflix

• Also see: Alien: Romulus (arguably the worst of the franchise, AVP excluded, but there’s a zero-gravity xenomorph scene that is awesome) streaming on Hulu

Best International: I’m Still Here

This is the only narrative film that I did not watch, because I was too burnt out on harrowing tales and a story about a family that’s violently ripped apart under a dictatorship felt a little close to home. I’m planning to see it over the next week though!

• What to pair: I’m going with lively Brazilian flavors since I suspect we’ll need a little levity during such a heavy watch. Passion fruit juice over ice with a mild creamy blue such as Bleu d’Auvergne, plantain chips, and dried pineapple

• Where to stream: Apple TV

Best Documentary: No Other Land

A collaboration between a Palestinian activist and Israeli journalist, this documentary chronicles the destruction of the occupied West Bank.

• What to pair: I haven’t seen this one yet but when I do I’m pan-frying Akawi, a Palestinian fresh cheese, in butter and topping with hot honey, pistachio, and rose petals

• Where to stream: no service actually has the courage to carry this movie so you cannot rent or stream this anywhere but you might be able to find a theater that’s playing it

• Also see: Porcelain Wars, which I haven’t seen but it is about Ukrainian artists finding beauty amidst destruction and that seems like something we all need to hear about right now. Unfortunately, it also isn’t streaming anywhere but maybe we can all collectively manifest that it becomes available soon?

Best Animated Feature: Flow

This Latvian film chronicles the journey of a cat teaming up with an unlikely cast of animal friends to survive a great flood. It’s beautiful and very stressful but also uplifting and compassionate.

• What to pair: water crackers with anchovies, mascarponé, and chives

• Where to stream: Max

• Also see: all of the animated nominations were great, so I recommend all of them! My favorite was Memoir of a Snail because I have a deep appreciation for claymation, available to rent for $4.99 on YouTube, Amazon, or Apple TV

Best Animated Short: In The Shadow of the Cypress

Beautiful and haunting tale of an old captain struggling with PTSD who lives by the sea with his daughter.

• Where to stream: rent on Vimeo for $4.50

• What to pair: dates with butter and maldon, as recommended by Christine Clark of The Creamline (one of my favorite substacks)

• Also see: my favorite of the animated shorts was Magic Candies but it’s not streaming anywhere so I’ll recommend Wander to Wonder which was just SO WEIRD that I can’t stop thinking about it (available to rent for $4.50 on Vimeo)

Best Live Action: I’m Not Robot

This Dutch short about a woman who fails a series of CAPTCHA tests starts off so strong and then falters at the end, but I still enjoyed it.

• Where to stream: YouTube

• What to pair: 1,000 day Gouda from Trader Joe’s and their mini stroopwafel

• Also watch: once again, my favorite is not streaming anywhere and this wasn’t the strongest category so I’m not recommending the others. If you ever get a chance to see The Last Ranger, about a woman protecting rhinoceros from poachers, I highly recommend it.

Best Documentary Short: The Only Girl in the Orchestra

The doc shorts were the strongest category this year, and this one was probably my least favorite. It’s a charming story about the first woman to play full time for the Phil Harmonic. I liked it, but I found the other docs much more impactful.

• Where to stream: Netflix

• What to pair: Humboldt Fog, an iconic cheese created by another female trailblazer, with a little orange marmalade and shortbread cookies

• Also see: Incident (trigger warning: police brutality in Chicago) streaming on YouTube

Thanks for reading, especially if you got all the way to the end! Sending you all love and solace.

Cheesus bless!

🖤 Erika